I once witnessed how a parent belittle a teacher in front of other teachers and the headmaster. The fuss was due to how the teacher was not giving enough homework to better 'prepare' the child for exams. The parents went as far as to call the teacher lazy and incompetent.
I knew that teacher personally and she prefers to cut back on homework. This is because the students are already overwhelmed with school work and were not able to cope. Thus, this teacher decided to minimize the workload and have more fun activities in the class. This had a positive effect for the class and the students started learning rather well. However, the parents did not seem to think so. As such, I do think that at times, schools or perhaps education centres require some form of publicist to help inform the parents.
Education Is Extremely Dynamic
Informing and educating parents on education is important for a few reasons. Chief of all is the difference in opinion between both parents and teachers. This is seen in the case for many parents, who see the importance of learning for the sake of exams as paramount. The problem with that is it contradicts learning in so many levels. Here is one of the many differences:
If you study for the sake of exams, your learning starts before the exams and ends after the exams.
If you study for the sake of learning, your learning never ends
As such, if there is a publicist who is churning out articles regarding this matter, perhaps the parents would start to understand why students are laughing away in class instead of studying. Perhaps, some parents would realize that life is all about balance and even if the students are playing, they may be learning as well. With how dynamic education is, there's really no one-size-fits-all method that is perfect for learning, but a publicist can help in informing the parents. With any luck, this may even cultivate a working relationship between the parent and the teacher in guiding the child.
Education Is A Long Continuous Process
The cooperation between parents and teachers are important because education is a very long and continuous process. This is because students go through at least eleven years of schooling before heading to university. Throughout those eleven years, there are many changes that may occur. Some subjects would even be irrelevant due to the advent of new technologies.
Throughout this process, as many changes take place, it is important for an education publicist to inform and explain these changes. This is important to avoid any potential misunderstandings. For example, a country once decided to revamp their exam systems. Instead of having grades or marks, the students would be given a band to indicate their progress and how they can improve. To many parents, this was a problem because they did not understand how this would help their children obtain scholarships as the scholarships were graded based on the child's results, not band. As such, many of them protested and the plan was shelved.
As such, with a publicist, he or she could inform and explain the reasons behind such a move. This would help the school and teachers evolve according to the times. Aside from that, parents would be able to understand and be assured of what is being done to their children at school.
Education Can Be Complicated
Last but not least, schools and centers require a publicist to explain certain complicated topics on education to the students. One reason is because when dealing with humans, teachers employ a myriad of theories and techniques to help the child learn. Some of these methods don't make sense. For example, you can't teach a child academically in preschool. The method is counter productive and preschoolers learn best through play and not reading. A publicist can take these ideas and simplify it to help parents understand why their children are playing in school instead of studying.
Furthermore, a publicist can also explain certain sensitive topics in education. An example is how to detect learning disabilities in the child and how to best handle it. Such topics are taboo to some parents, but a publicist writing about the benefits of seeking specialized help would help better inform the parents to seek help.
Perhaps some day, we would see such publicists in schools, but until that day comes, I suppose I will be the publicist for my school with all things education.
